JOHANNESBURG - The Democratic Alliance (DA) is maintaining a strong lead in the latest eNCA MarkData election projection for the City of Johannesburg.
The party holds the largest projected vote share at 32,36%, more than doubling the African National Congress (ANC), which is projected at 18% to 22%.
ActionSA follows in third place with 15% to 19%, while the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) occupy fourth and fifth positions, respectively.
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eNCA Elections Analyst Wayne Sussman says the numbers are likely to change as votes are still being tallied.
“There are a lot of core township voting districts still to come in, so we think, even though the DA has made some inroads in the township, their vote share will come down, and the ANC's vote share will come up slightly.
“But this is historic. The Democratic Alliance has never, ever been the largest party in the city of Johannesburg, the most populous city in our country, and today, according to our eNCA projection, they are well ahead of any other party,” Sussman said.
The MK Party, which did not contest the 2021 local elections, in Sussman's view, is not performing as strongly as expected.
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He explains that the Jacob Zuma-led party was Johannesburg's third most popular party during its 2024 provincial election debut.
However, the latest projection now puts the party in fifth position.
“I am surprised by this. They will not be happy with this support. I was expecting them to win a number of wards in Johannesburg. Obviously, some of those results are still coming in [and] they might still land some wards,” Sussman expressed.